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Forbidden Planet film not a remake

You know it's as if we're hearing this phrase on every project that bears a direct resemblance to a remake. Have a film titled the same as a previous film and with an amazingly similar plot that originally has the script being taken from the original script/film/novel? Well that'll not be a remake then, it's something different, honestly. That's now what J. Michael Straczynski is saying about his remake of Forbidden Planet.

For more on the whole remake/not a remake thing, see the current Filmstalker feature, in the meantime, here's what JMS is saying about his next story.

"It's not a remake. It's not a reimagining. It's not exactly a prequel. You'll have to see it. It's something that no one has thought of when it comes to this storyline."

Well what the hell is it then? You know I don't get this sometimes, when is a remake not a remake? Well I started to understand it when I went and explored it in the current Filmstalker feature, but when you hear things like this about a remake project you start wondering if they are just employing very good spin doctors. Surely it's just going to be a remake?

"I've always wanted to do something involving Forbidden Planet...It's my favorite science-fiction film of all time...I told [producer] Joel [Silver] this is how you do 'Forbidden Planet' without pissing on the original that no one has ever thought of...When I told [the idea] to him, his eyes lit up."

Well it would seem that he's got a great idea for the film, and Joel Silver thought so too, although he probably saw money signs flashing up rather than a great and entertaining idea.

However JMS seems to have one thing set out in his head, this won't be a retro project, they're going for as cutting edge as they can get it, and quite right too. He's been working on getting the Krell as logically correct as possible, understanding what science would say these creatures would look like.

Still, I find it hard to understand why this isn't a remake considering all that has been said even in this interview. It's a remake of Forbidden Planet, however many twists they add, in isn't it?

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Comments

Wow. I thought it was weird that someone was remaking "Barbarella" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still" but this now? I thought that "forbidden Planet" was pretty creative and snazzy for the fifties, but I don't see how they could allude to it in such an obscure manner and still keep the name.

Well it seems to be the new trend in western cinema just now, remake but change as much of the little details as possible to make it seem different. Sometimes it gives us something different enough to raise an interest, sometimes it doesn't.

I think there is something to tell in Forbidden Planet that reflects today's society and issues, but I don't know how different it'll feel barring updated effects.